State of Emergency declared for City of Goshen

GOSHEN, Ind. ---Concord Mall is almost unrecognizable. Main roads in Goshen are either full of water or are getting there.

Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman tells ABC57 he’s been at it since 2:30 Wednesday morning.

“We’re asking Goshen to limit travel as much as possible.”

Goshen, looking like a completely different city, took a hard hit after the Elkhart River reached high levels.

“The levels continued to rise and surpass what they were estimating,” says Stutsman.

Goshen resident, Richard Ernsperger, agrees. “I haven't seen anything like this in many years; it's going all over 33.”

Mayor Stutsman says after the city council meeting on Tuesday, issuing a state of emergency was an easy choice.

“We’re really just asking to respect all barricades, the first responders, make sure you’re out of their way,” he says. “Goshen has already had to perform several rescues.”

Mayor Stutsman says the state of emergency is put in place to keep residents safe, but it’s also the first step for federal funding.

“If we do not declare state of emergency it’ll be very hard to get any help from other agencies to fix what’s been ruined,” he says.

Stutsman is also asking residents to limit water usage, “Our sewer system is maxed out, there’s no more room in it.”

“It's overwhelming to see this,” says Ernsperger. “I have never seen this wide of a water flow.”

On the bright side, Michiana mayors have stepped up to help.

“They’ve been great offering resources, manpower, whatever we need, we haven’t had to take anyone up on that yet,” says Stutsman.

The mayor says, as of Wednesday, about 55 people have been evacuated from problem areas.